Meandering among the Loudon Marbles.

This year's first race at Loudon is over. Finally!

• I fully understand that the enjoyment of watching a race goes hand in hand with the results of my particular driver, For instance, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Sonoma, and I hated watching today's race at Loudon. And yes, it depended totally on how my driver fared.

• Major belated props to David Gilliland for last week's podium finish at Infineion Raceway. He impressed fans and peers alike, receiving accolades from the likes of Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, and Jeff Gordon, along with a host of media writers and broadcasters. He deserved every bit of the praise.

• This week was not so good for either Yates Racing team! The COT proves that it is very fickle, and if the set-up is slightly off, the driver and crew chief will spend the entire race chasing the track, and chasing the set up.

• Add Jamie McMurray to the Hate List for the Junior Nation. While the rear-ending of Jr seems to have been pointless, many fans forget there is a tremendous amount of things that drivers have to react to, including suddenly closing in on a car that comes down to try and pit. I firmly believe that McMurray would never have purposely taken his own car out of the race in that manner.

• The 4th of July Fireworks happened a week early, when Kyle Busch and Juan Pablo Montoya had their little tiff on track. Kyle was quite amusing in his post-race interview, with his air of injured dignity. Juan Pablo, however, boldly admitted he wrecked Kyle on purpose. After visiting with his new friends in the NASCAR hauler, he left with a 2 lap penalty. (David Gilliland's fans thank you for that JPM! It gave us an extra sorely needed finishing spot!)

• Sadly, the shenanigans of the above two wrecks will take away from the win of Kurt Busch. In fact, I am sure there will be discussion that the top 6 cars did not deserve their finishes, as they never ran up front during the race. However, each of those cars played their strategy brilliantly, and therefor deserve their finishes just as ANY other fuel race. ALL races are, to a degree, fuel management races. Sadly, the controversies of the two wrecks will over-shadow any joy for the fans of those drivers.

• Oh, and major props to Casey Mears. He got the word last week that he was the odd man out at Hendrick Motorsports. And of course, this week he runs the best race of the season.

• Silly Season has turned into a huge merry-go-round. The NASCAR World is watching for Tony Stewart to declare his intentions, so that we can watch all of the other dominoes fall in place. The only true domino I wish to see would be the ones of sponsors declaring their faith in Yates Racing, to ensure the continuation of the organization in the sport.

Musings from the Marbles: Bristol Rain Delay Version

Sadler is Sadder?

Has Elliott Sadler stepped on his own flapping tongue when it comes to disparaging Jack Roush’s issues with so-called cheating? I received a couple of 'instantly deleted' comments from fans of Sadler, that tried to use profanity and threats to tell me to stop what I was writing in my Snafam Blog. In the last week, I have since discovered that I am not alone in my feelings about this subject. Various message boards have multipe posts that called Sadler a variety of names. Other blogs, including Jennifer St.Antoine, Matt McLauglin, and Phil, aka One Lugnut Short show that not all of NASCAR fandom believe that Sadler actually had the intelligence to be insulted. For those that believe in Kharma (or is that "Carma?") it appears that Sadler suffered for his own sins of disclosure, by being the cause of no less than three cautions at Atlanta. Then again, perhaps there was thought that it would be better to not have a car in decent shape for post-race tech inspection, as Sadler admitted to being party to cheating in his previous rides. I'm just sayin!

Top 35 points switching?

During the off season, it was discovered that Roger Penske had been granted permission from NASCAR to swap the points of Kurt Busch's car with Sam Hornish's car. It was thought that, with qualifying out of the way, that Sam would be able to be solidly in the top 35 points. And if there were issues, Kurt could use his past Champion's provisional to get into the race.

Now we have a whole new mess, at least from Kurt's perspective. After 4 races, according to the Owners points list from Motorsportsone.net shows, Sam is in 36 and Kurt is in 10th. Several articles tell of Kurt's paling face when told of the possibility of points switching again, as he is tired of getting the scraps of the bottom 35. (Last choice on tires, transporter out in the boonies, late inspection before practice, etc.) Other's that COULD switch points would be Kyle Petty and Bobby Labonte, Patrick Carpentier with either Kasey Kahne or Elliott Sadler, and the does Michael McDowell really deserve to reap the rewards of the Jarrett/Reutiman dance? I am betting that if a widespread points-swap happens next week, NASCAR is going to step in and stop it.

In my opinion, if the point swap continues, NASCAR should allow it, but assess a penalty, say 100 points, to allow it to happen. That would probably take care of the situation.

Tires and Tony, another Retread!

I admit it. I am not a Tony Stewart fan. In the past, I was a very fervent fan of his. But the more he spoke, the more I was embarassed to even mention his name. While he is an amazingly talented driver, he is his own worst enemy.

Last week, he dumped his anger at Goodyear into the waiting microphones of the NASCAR media. My first inclination including muttering 'crybaby' under my breath. Then, other drivers chimed in, and backed up many of Tony's claims, while disagreeing with the way the message was delivered. I listened, I read, and I formulated my own opinion that perhaps Tony was right, for THIS issue.

And then, Goodyear, as reported by the Associated Press writer, Jenna Fryer, is not ammenable to inviting Tony for any further tire tests. It seems he was angry for having to attend one during his off season, and was uncommunicative during the test. So, Tony, instead of being part of the solution, became part of the problem.

Retiring Drivers, how loyal to the sport is the younger generation?

Bristol will be the last points race for Dale Jarrett. We have watched many of sports veteran's start to migrate away from the driver's seat. Rusty left, and is in the booth. Mark Martin is driving a reduced schedule. Terry Labonte is gone. Bill Elliott is on his last run, Kenny Schrader is finding it harder to get rides in the Cup series. In my opinion, those drivers are the last of a dying breed. They came into the sport older than our current drivers. They did not get top rides immediately, but had to work hard and prove their worth. I honestly do not see many of our current crop of drivers lasting into their late forties and early fifties.

Drivers Union

Suddenly, the dreaded words "Drivers Union" is rearing its ugly head. Again. It amazes me that number of fans who WANT to see a union formed. Have we learned nothing from the strikes in the baseball industry? With that said, I think it is time for Brian France and Mike Helton to create a better way for drivers to voice their opinion, and to help shape the future of the sport. When I hear that drivers do not feel that their opinions are being heard, I can't help but think of the questions used by the Gallup business consulting division, where an important Q12 question would be (for the workplace) "My Opinions Count!" Increasing driver engagement for the future of the sport, rather than for 'what is in it for the driver' can only be beneficial.

Chrissy Wallace debut

Chrissy Wallace, daughter of Mike Wallace, appears to have had a successful test at Martinsville in the truck series. It also appears that she will be in a truck soon, driving for Germain Racing. In the past, it has been noticed that many of the female drivers tend to get 'spun' out early in a race. The unspoken word has been that it is still hard for a female to 'make it' in this 'man's sport.'

I would advise, however, that the Good Ole Boys think twice about spinning out Chrissy. I hear she has inherited an extremely agressive Wallace gene, one that comes with back-up from a Daddy and Two Uncles. And possibly a cousin.

Wax On, Wax Off!

On Monday, March 17, 2008, Sirius listeners of Channel 128 will be given an exclusive look into the makings of classic radio. Again, I am not a Tony Stewart fan. But, Tony has invited all of his haters to join in with the Operation Wax Smoke culmination. After a challenge by Kevin Harvick, whose fans raised nearly $50K, Kevin added in the rest to total $100,000 for charity. The sounds you will hear on the radio program will be Tony getting his back hair ripped off, waxed strip by waxed strip. I admit it, I contributed to it,in the midst of my ire following one of Tony's idiotic moments of blaming David Gilliland for 'brake checking during practice'.

I now will get to hear the rewards of my donation. I will enjoy it!

More Miscellanea from the Marbles

Penalty's Painful Penance:

Tony Eury, Jr, Crew Chief for the DEI #8 Budweiser team, was said to have been parked in the motorcoach lot during NHIS weekend, in spite of still serving a 6-week suspension. While on the top of the motorcoach watching practice, he was said to have removed his shirt due to heat. At the end of the day, he discovered he was sunburned to the point of blistering. Ouch!

That may be the most pain any member of the 8 team felt while Tony was serving his sentence. In fact, that may be the most pain felt by ANY of the Suspended Chiefs. It has been noticed by many that the teams with Probational Crew Chiefs have not failed as much as expected. The truth has come out, that the crew chiefs have been violating the spirit of the suspension, and are still at the track, and participating in team decisions during the weekend.

Look for NASCAR to restrict those shenanigans! Brian France, during a teleconference stated
that NASCAR was looking into it. My personal suggestion is to send those crew chiefs out into Short-Track Land, and have them join the inspection team. Then on Cup day, they should be joining David Hoots in Race Control, unable to use cell phones or any other device to contact their teams. Keep them busy on race weekend, far too busy to get into trouble. After all, it works for many teen-agers that are grounded!

Grace Under Pressure

There is a certain cachet to winning races. It is easy to be gracious with fans, media, and other drivers when one is on top of the world. It takes an extra amount of maturity to show grace when your world has turned upside down.

Kasey Kahne? Went from winning 6 races last year, and this year has been struggling to get past his single Top 10. When he is frustrated, he blames the other drivers around the track, complete with cheap shots. (David Gilliland and David Stremme were targets, for example.)

Tony Stewart? Well, I have already been vocal about him. He will occasionaly admit to being in the wrong, rarely. It is sad that he is a two-time champ.

Juan Montoya? The instances of his arrogance are too numerous to mention. Great driver, but lacking in social skills.

Denny Hamlin? Thank heavens he finally got a win! The look on his face was rapidly assuming the same dark thunderous expressions worn by his Two-Time Champ team mate!

Kyle Busch? He leaves the Texas race while his team is still trying to fix his car. At Atlanta. after clashing on track with his brother Kurt, refuses to address the media. Word in the garage is that it was rather 'frosty' in the Busch family for quite awhile. And let us not forget how he dissed his car while standing in Victory Lane.

How many times have we heard bad things about Jeff Burton over-reacting under pressure? Bobby Labonte? Terry Labonte? And for heaven's sake, even Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Jr have not expressed such extreme lack of class. And on the rare occasions they have been wrong, they are the first to acknowledge they were wrong.

Brad Keselowski is this week's winner of Grace under Pressure, How to Be Bigger Than The Situation. After having the race of his life, and being spun out on the final lap, he only expressed disappointment for himself, without casting blame. During radio interviews in the week after, he told us he knows that it does no good to get angry. Good for you, Brad!

Silly Season in Full Swing!

So far, we have seen the high-profile driver switch-abouts from the high profile Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kyle Busch. Other rumors abound with David Reutimann and Ryan Newman. The whole set of drivers from Evernham Motorsports have been the subject of rampant rumors. Those rumors persist, even though Ray declared, due to the pending merger with Canadiens owner Gillett Jr., that all of his drivers have committed to EMS. And yet, the rumors persist as the teams continue to struggle.

In addition, Sadler's Team Director has stepped off of the pit box, and Ray has committed to being on the box with his interim TD for the next race.

Drivers in Need of Parking?

When I heard that Ted Musgrave had been parked for a race in NCTS, I was astounded, as it seemed so far unreal when compared to past penalties. I especially wondered why the NCTS seemed to have so little trouble with parking a driver, and yet the NEXTEL Cup seemed to be holding back. Then I read the following quote from TMS promoter Eddie Gossage "But the day you park a popular driver is the day I'll be demanding money back from my purse and sanctioning fee from NASCAR because there will be some people not showing up because their favorite driver isn't at the track. It puts NASCAR in a bind. It really does." Enough said! Parking a Cup driver will be one of the last steps that NASCAR will ever take.

We are now approaching the 'crossed-flags' of the 2007 racing season. Look for a report card in the near future!

Battle of Champions

Today, the NASCAR fan world is holding their breath over the impending doom to be applied to Kurt Busch, for his pit road transgression at Dover. While perusing the message boards, and listening to the commentary on "Morning Drive," I discover that there is a wide range of opinion on What To Do With A Man Like Kurt" (hum a few bars from The Sound of Music!) It is my turn to add my thoughts.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will remember from my Tony Stewart rant that I am no longer a Tony Stewart apologist. However, in this case, he was certainly the lesser of two evils.

Tony has a habit of being stubborn and unrelenting while in his car. This year, he is demonstrating a need to be proved right, and to teach lessons. For example, after David Gilliland moved out of line at Talledega, Tony feinted as if he was going to follow, and then Tony closed the gap. He then claimed on the radio "He (meaning David) has to learn to not do that." At the time, I marveled at Tony choosing to teach a lesson in this manner.

During Dover, he was an instigator in the situation. By insisting he was not going to give up a spot, when there was over 125 laps remaining. Tony himself has claimed folks race too hard too early in the race, and yet here he was doing the same thing. The battle then ruined two potential winning race cars.

However, my commentary on Tony in no way clears Kurt Busch of any blame. Kurt totally blew it by taking an aggressive stance on pit road, and putting a pit crew member in jeopardy.

Many Kurt Busch fans are taking a firm stance that is surprising. "The Pit Crew Guy had plenty of time to jump out of the way!" Huh? If it were me, I would have been jumping also, as I have no way of knowing if the angry driver is going to stop on time! When Carl Edwards spun Tony, he didn't get in much trouble! Another HUH? If you haven't figured it out from the penalties at the first race of the year, NASCAR has escalated the penalty process!

As I type this, I am hearing a rumor that Kurt will be forced to sit out Pocono. He will lose 175 points by not being allowed to race. I am also hearing a rumor that there were some issues with his car, that will cause a further point loss of 100, and a monetary penalty of 100K.

If the rumor is true, Kurt will effectively be out of the Chase.

It is a shame that two Champions cannot meet off track and clear the air. Now, there are negative consequences for one of the teams, and the sport as a whole.

I guess there is no way to fix idiocy!

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My condolences go to the family of Bill France, Jr. There is no denying the impact he had on the world of motorsports.